Indian soldiers killed three suspected rebels in a gun battle Sunday in Indian-administered Kashmir, the army said, as the region reels from weeks of deadly violence between protesters and security forces.
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Shops, businesses and schools have remained closed because of a security lockdown and protest strikes since the killing of a popular rebel commander on July 8 that sparked some of the largest protests against Indian rule in recent years.
66 civilians have died in last 43 days in clashes with security forces and thousands have been injured.
As many as 64 people including two police personnel were killed and several others injured in the clashes that began on July 9. However, prayers were allowed at small neighborhood mosques.
Local volunteers have engaged in a massive effort to get food and medicine to people in besieged neighborhoods, delivering items mostly at night.
India’s top military commander in Kashmir, Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, told reporters Friday that soldiers would be deployed to secure highways and roads for traffic. The army later said that it regretted the incident.
“These things are not sanctioned at any level (in the army)”. The Himalayan region has been under curfew for nearly six weeks as the largest street protests in years erupted after Indian troops killed a top rebel leader, and security was tightened further in the week preceding India’s Independence day.
A United Nations human rights official has expressed “deep regret” at the failure of both India and Pakistan to grant access to the separate parts of Kashmir that each runs to investigate allegations of serious human rights violations.
Amnesty has said the event was focused on human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir.
An injured man is rushed to a hospital after he was injured during clashes between police and protesters.
A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy said the raiding party “accidently fired” at the couple and “regretted” the incident.
In the meanwhile, scores of patients and drivers of today staged protests near Old Secretariat after forces disallowed ambulances to proceed ahead during curfew.
Thousands of people raising pro-Pakistan, pro-freedom and anti-India slogans are attending protest rallies in Pulwama, Shopian, Islamabad and other districts of the territory.
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A separatist movement and guerrilla war challenging New Delhi’s rule is going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989.
